


Finders Keepers

by Leah Adezio Archivist (offpanel_archivist)



Series: Changing Tides [2]
Category: Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1996-07-02
Updated: 1996-07-02
Packaged: 2017-11-18 19:56:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/564684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/offpanel_archivist/pseuds/Leah%20Adezio%20Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The <b>Changing Tides</b> series. Het, Tempest/OC.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finders Keepers

**Author's Note:**

> This story is archived on behalf of Leah Adezio, who passed away in 2007, by her designated archivist.
> 
> Special thanks to Carmen Williams, for scanning and reformatting this fic from ancient hard copy.

_Changing Tides_

**Finders Keepers**

_by_ _Leah Adezio_

 

Author's Note:  This story fits into _Changing Tides_ continuity.  As always, continuity is my own, and any typos, screwups or general oopses are the responsibility of the author.  Be advised that this is a _prequel_ story, taking place after the events of _A Mother's Pride,_ and years before the events of _Code of Silence._

 

 

 

FROM THE JOURNALS OF ARTHUR CURRY

 

            For all the time I have spent beneath the seas and for all the places and things I have seen, I am still often amazed by what I find.  Sometimes it's a bit of what the landsmen would call treasure -- coins from the wreck of a Spanish galleon or a safe holding bullion.  Sometimes it's a species of sea creature hidden in the deepest recesses of canyons that are secrets to sea dwellers like myself.  But today, I found the damnedest thing -- what my 'father' would've called the grandaddy of 'em all.

            Today, I found a boy.

            I was exploring an area several hours swim away from Poseidonis when I noticed a cluster of several species of fish near the mouth of a cave.  When I tried to order them away, I began receiving conflicting emanations from them.  They were in communication with someone else! I didn't think that was possible.  But on the other hand, since I don't know how I got my powers, maybe I shouldn't assume that I am unique.

            I traced the source of the emanations to the interior of the cave.  What I found there took me quite by surprise.  When the boy saw me, he screamed and tried to flee past me, but I was able to hold onto him easily.  He started to beg me to let him go, and I was doubly glad for Vulko's early language lessons.  The boy spoke a dialect of Atlantean -- not the easiest thing to understand, but his message got through well enough.

            Garth (that's what he calls himself) is terribly thin, almost emaciated.  I was finally able to assure him that I wouldn't hurt him, that I was a friend and he calmed down.  When I inspected the cave, I noticed two pallets -- one large, one small.  I asked him how long he'd been there and he showed me notches scratched into the wall of the cave.  They were grouped in fives.  He couldn't have made them all - he's far too young.  By my count, there were over seven years' worth of notches there.  He showed me one notch that he'd circled -- and told me that was for the day his mother left him.

            He asked me if I'd seen his 'Mama'.  He'd been waiting for her since that day -- nearly two years by notch count.

            I'm amazed.  Garth can't be much more than seven himself and he's survived alone for all that time.  I had to be honest with him and tell him I hadn't seen anyone that could've been his mother.  Apparently, the large pallet belonged to her -- I also found some women's clothing -- tunics, leggings, boots.  There were small items, too, baby-sized.  They must've been Garth's -- which means that this has probably been his only home.

            Which also leads me to wonder: why were a woman and a boy living out in that cave alone? Garth never mentioned his father.  I assume he wasn't around, at least not that Garth can remember -- and the large pallet certainly wasn't wide enough for two adults to sleep on together comfortably.

            What a sorry sight Garth was.  He was wearing a pair of cut leggings, tied around his waist with a piece of cord.  They were much too big for his thin body -- must've belonged to his mother.  His hair reached well past his shoulders and was very straggly.  His ribs stuck out from his sides and I noticed several sores on his legs and arms.  When I asked him what he ate, he told me fruit, roots, kelp -- very little protein.  That might explain the sores.

            So, anyway, I convinced him that he should come with me, especially when I realized that the conflicting telepathy I was receiving was coming from him!  I'm curious about this -- perhaps this is something we can explore.  He finally agreed as long as I promised to look for his mother.  I agreed to that.  How could I not?

            So now I have a boy -- here in the palace.  He's asleep now.  I made sure he had a decent meal.  The poor child was exhausted after our travels.

            Gods, what will he need?  Clothing, definitely medical care -- and a haircut -- I can barely see his face as it is.

            I think Garth and I will see Vulko so I can get the boy the attention he needs -- and see if I can find someone to take him in until I find out what happened to his mother.

 

***

 

            Well, for now at least, I get to play father.

            When we went to see Vulko, he was quite taken aback when he saw Garth -- as if he'd seen a ghost.  He took us to the Royal Medical Center so Garth could have a check-up.  As I thought, Garth's sores are due to a protein deficiency.  Injections took care of that.  Besides that, he's basically sound, even down to his teeth.

            I asked Vulko if he knew anything about the child while Garth was being examined.  The look that was on his face kept telling me he did.  His nod confirmed it and he told me to meet him at his home later.

            After the exam, I took Garth back to the palace and made arrangements for clothing and the haircut.  He is full of questions.  Everything is so new to him.  He's never seen conveniences we take for granted - refreshers, skimmers, sliding doors.  Even the chairs and table in the dining room were a source of fascination to him.

            When dinner was over, I tried to leave him in the care of old Mauri -- the palace seamstress is the closest thing I could find to a nanny on short notice -- but he cried and screamed when I went to leave.  So I carried him to his room and stayed with him until he fell asleep.  It was my first chance to really look at him.

            With his straggly curls cut now, I can see that he's an attractive little boy, with regular features.  He'll look better when he's gained some weight and the hollows leave his cheeks and eyes.  And his eyes are a most unusual color.  I've never seen purple eyes before.  They contrast well with his black hair.

            Anyway, on to Vulko.  When I arrived at his home, he sat me down at his computer.  Apparently, he was ready for me.  What he showed me was quite the surprise!  The records of Garth's birth were sealed, for political reasons, and Vulko held the only copy in existence.

            I am disgusted by the superstitious climate that prevailed before my reign began -- but I also know two more things: why I have never seen purple eyes before, and that no family in the city will take Garth into their care.

 

            I asked Vulko about returning Garth to his own people and in his opinion, it would be impossible.  They banished his mother, a queen named Berra - they would not welcome him back as a prince (actually, he would be a very tiny king), nor does Vulko think the Idyllists would welcome Garth back as anything else.  To them, he is an outcast.

            Upon my return to the palace, I looked in on Garth.  I sat there and watched -- just watched -- him as he slept all curled up in the big bed.  How small and vulnerable he looked.  How can I help him?

            How do I go about finding his mother?

 

***

 

            One more mystery solved.

            I began my search near the cave where I found Garth.  It seemed the best place to start.  By now, he was comfortable enough with Mauri to stay with her, and she was delighted to have him around.  She, bless her, does not avert her eyes at the mere sight of him.

            So, the search.  To my surprise, it didn't take long.  I was examining the cliffs near the cave and found several piles of boulders that seemed out of place.  So I began clearing them away.  The second pile revealed a skeleton.  I removed the bones, wrapped them in large leaves and brought them to the Ministry of Science.  Vulko did the studies personally.  He's the only one with access to Berra's medical records.

            Garth is an orphan.  And the hardest thing I think I have ever done in my life was to tell him that his mother is dead.

            He did not cry.  Perhaps he's known it all along, but kept holding onto the hope that she was alive and would return to him someday.

            So now we know who he is, when he was born (and he is seven and a half), and what happened to his mother.

            But who will care for him?

            I think I will ask my advisors.  They are reasonable men and women.  Maybe one of them will accept Garth as a son.

 

***

 

            They all turned me down.  Gently, of course, and with reasonable excuses, but they all turned me down.  The only ones who even considered it seriously, I think, were Vulko and Gavor.

            Vulko declined on the basis of his age -- he is not a young man and has no consort.  He didn't feel that he would be able to give a small boy the upbringing and attention he would need.

            Gavor -- or more specifically, his Lady-consort -- also declined.  They have one child already -- a daughter of near the same age, I believe -- and she does not wish another child.

            What to do?  In a way, I am glad.

            The longer Garth is here, the more I see what a charming child he is.  Shy, by all means, and sometimes too quiet, but he's intelligent and endearing.

            If he were to go, I think I'd miss him.

            I guess there's only one thing to do.  I am young and there's certainly enough staff here at the palace to help me care for him -- especially when I am away out playing hero.

            Tomorrow, I will ask Vulko what I must do to become Garth's guardian.

            Play at being a father?  It appears I am about to become one.

            You know, I think I rather like that idea.

            I never knew my real father, and like Garth, I spent my childhood alone, except for a longer period of time, until my namesake and I found each other.  My Arthur was a good man.  He raised me alone.

            Father, this is my chance to pay you back for your kindness and your love.

            Let's see how much of what you gave me I can give to this little boy who so desperately needs someone to love him.

            He needs someone.

            That someone will be me.

            Just as you loved me, Father, I will love Garth -- and I can only hope I am half as successful raising him as you were with me.

 

 

            If I am, then he'll turn out all right.  I hope.

            A son.

            Dear gods, do I know what I'm in for? Of course I do -- I think.

            I'm looking forward to the journey that Garth and I will begin tomorrow.

            I'm looking forward to it very much, indeed.  Look at me, Father.  I have a son!

 

***

 

            When I lived with my father -- on the surface -- he would tease me with a children's rhyme that went 'I have a little shadow who goes in and out with me' as I would follow him around.  I used to find that slightly annoying.

            Now I understand exactly how he felt.

            Now, I am the one with a shadow - one about 130 centimeters tall.  Garth wants to follow me everywhere -- through the city, to council meetings, out on patrols (and I drew the line at that!).  It seems I am the only one he truly trusts.  He senses the apprehension that the vast majority of the people have around him -- the old ways die hard, it seems, and they feel him to be inferior to them.  He senses that, but doesn't understand why.  I'm at a loss to explain it to him.  I understand it intellectually, but not having been raised here myself, it's not ingrained into my consciousness -- besides, at one time, superstition made me an outcast.  I can sympathize, but I can't explain this to a seven year old child.

            So, since the others, including the children, don't embrace him, he clings to me.  It's okay, though.  I don't really mind.  He does everything that's asked of him -- he's almost desperately anxious to please me.  I think he's afraid that I'll send him away if I'm not happy.  He does everything I ask.

            Except for one thing.  He won't call me Father.

            He remembers a little of what his mother told him - that his father was a good man and that he looks like him.  Apparently, Berra didn't tell him the story of how Thar died.  Or that Garth is royally born.  I guess that's not exactly the sort of tale one uses as a bedtime story.  He knows his father died before he was born.

            I think he's too young to know the truth, but he will have to be told someday.  But he does know he had a man that he calls Father -- and I am not he.  So, he calls me by my first name and that's okay, too.  He's noticed that the others, except for Vulko, really, don't and I think that he feels that because he can, it's special enough.

            And if nothing else, Garth is an intelligent child -- even after a few months, he's become fluent in the language and has abandoned the dialect that he used to speak.  The tutor I've engaged tells me that he's learning to read and write -- and will soon be at age level with his peers.  Garth enjoys math and loves to count everything.  If there's more than one of something, he counts it -- and when he's done, he looks to me for praise.

            He's quite the little boy.  Mauri has taken great pleasure in feeding him all sorts of sweet treats and he's gained weight.  He's filled out just right -- the hollows in his cheeks are gone and I can no longer see his ribs.  He looks healthy and whole.

            The palace staff has gotten used to him poking his nose in everything and asking all his questions.  He especially likes spending time visiting the stables where the giant sea horses are kept; talking to them (and that's something we'll have to work on soon).  I guess he'll be wanting a mount of his own soon enough.  He sees the other children riding outside the dome and wants to do as they do.

            Soon.  There's time enough for everything.

 

***

 

            I seem to have a troubling problem.  For the past several weeks, Garth has been having nightmares -- and they're getting worse.  He wakes up in the middle of the night, screaming in terror, and it's disturbing everyone.  Not only can his screams be heard throughout the palace, but because he hasn't yet learned how to shield his thoughts well, he's invading our minds.  All I have been able to do is go to him and hold him until he stops crying and falls back to sleep.  He doesn't remember the nightmares -- what they're about, I mean.

            If this continues, I'm going to have to get some help for him.  This can't go on much longer.  For his sake -- and for ours -- I have to find a way to make the nightmares stop.

 

***

 

            The Adepts sent a healer today.

            She will work with Garth and tryto determine the source of his nightmares and help end them.  When she, Janin, I believe her name is, arrived, Garth wouldn't let her near him unless I stayed.  I tried to explain that she would help make his bad dreams go away, and for that, she needs privacy.  He huddled in his chair and cried.

            Janin, bless her, was wonderful.  She assured Garth that she would only talk to him to get to know him and that I could stay, and I didn't have to leave, not until he was ready to have me go.

            So we sat together, the three of us.  Janin sat on the floor of Garth's room and started to play with some of his toys.  She added some that she brought -- little people dolls -- to his collection of fish figurines that were strewn about on the floor.  After a while, he stopped watching her and joined her in playing with the dolls.  Every so often, he'd take one of the fish dolls and begin to shake it violently.  Then, he grabbed one of Janin's female dolls and shook it, too, before flinging it aside.  And then, as if nothing had happened, he abruptly got up and went to his computer table -- and called up a counting game.  He let Janin play it with him.  I could tell that the interaction with the dolls had her concerned.

            She told me afterwards that she used the dolls deliberately, to see if perhaps Garth would play-act whatever it is that's troubling him.  We are both convinced that it has something to do with his mother, but neither of us understands why he shook the dolls so violently.

            I can only pray that Janin is able to help him.  What if he's been so scarred by losing his mother that the damage can't be repaired?

            And if that's the case, what will come after the nightmares?

 

***

 

            Janin came to me today after her latest session with Garth.  She told me that he's consented to letting her stay with him tonight.  I'm extremely pleased with her progress.  It's taken nearly a month to get to this point.  We thought it would take longer.

            What she plans to do is observe him while he sleeps, monitoring his mind so she can tap into his dreams and see what the nightmare is.  Garth is still unable to tell us what they are about.  Once she knows what his dreams are, she will be able to help him let go of his terror.

            It's so frustrating.  I try to do my best to keep him occupied -- the tutor, of course, takes up hours of Garth's day.  When I can, I take him out and about -- showing him the city and the world outside the dome.

            I've also enrolled him in civil training courses.  He's of the age to begin learning the martial arts that every citizen learns.  He seems to enjoy the classes, but is afraid of the other children.  I guess it's natural for two reasons -- he's never been around so many people before, and the children hear stories from their parents.  They are polite to Garth because I stay to watch him, but that's it -- not one of them has really tried to be friendly to him, and he is too shy to initiate conversations.

            Anyway, it's almost Garth's bedtime.  I'm going to help Mauri get him ready for bed, then await Janin's arrival.  Hopefully, we'll get to the source of all of this tonight.

 

***

 

            Janin thought I'd be asleep.  Not a chance.

            She was tired, but triumphant.

            It's an earthquake.  Garth has been dreaming of an earthquake, and as near as Janin can determine, it's this event that killed Berra.  In the dream, there is a great deal of shaking (which Janin says explains why Garth shook the dolls), and he is with his mother.  Then, she leaves and doesn't return.  He searches for her, but can't find her.

            Now, Janin says she'll help him understand that the earthquake wasn't his fault -- he seems to feel that somehow, he's responsible for his mother's death -- and help him move beyond it.

            She's confident that now that she knows what the nightmare's about, it won't be long before they are just a memory to us all -- and that Garth will be fine.

 

***

 

            Another report from Janin today.  She's reducing her visits with Garth to once a week.  The nightmares have been absent for over two weeks now, and she says that he's doing well in accepting Berra's death - and he's no longer terrified that I will leave him permanently, as well.  According to her, that is why he clings so, especially when I leave the city without him.

            Even now, I see the results of her work.  Garth is no longer hysterical when I am away, although Mauri tells me he often asks her if I'm coming back.  He is more comfortable being by himself and he'll go to explore the city on his own, though he never strays far from the palace.

            Now, Janin says she will begin to teach him how to shield his thoughts from others, as well as other etiquette that a telepath must learn.  He's got much 'catching up' to do -- Atlantean children begin learning how to control their minds as they learn to control their bodies.  The other children his age already know how to shield on several different levels -- and Garth broadcasts all over the place! But Janin is confident.  He's a strong telepath for his age, and she feels he'll learn quickly.

            The prognosis is very good, indeed.  It's as if a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  I have come to love him, and will do my damnedest to make him happy.  And I think he loves me, too, though he's never said so.  Janin certainly thinks so -- she feels that's one reason the nightmares were so intense – that Garth's sleeping mind was taking a fear of losing me and transferring it through reliving the day his mother disappeared.

            Well, at any rate, the worst of it is over, and we'll (hopefully) have calm around here once again.

 

***

 

            How routine life has become!  Janin continues to report weekly.  She is very pleased with Garth's progress.  He shields very well now, and understands that it's just not polite to try to get past other people's shields to see what they are thinking.

            The tutor is pleased, as well.  He reports that Garth is up to age level in all his studies, and even has surpassed his peers in mathematics.

            He still has trouble relating to the other children in his martial arts class, but he now gets along well with all the adults around the palace.  He is especially close to Janin and Mauri.  Mauri takes particular delight in his company.  When, at one point, I suggested that we now seek out a permanent nanny so she could take up her regular duties full-time, she gave me such a look that I decided to just drop that topic right then and there! I may be King, but I guess no one fools with Mauri when she plants her heels in the silt.  Not even me.

            And as for me -- well, I look back on the past five months and wonder what my life was like without him.  He smiles now and the corridors of the palace are often filled with the sound of his laughter.  We enjoy going out to explore the terrain outside the dome -- the other day I took him to the Northern Ridge and showed him how to slide down the smooth rocks like the other children do.  Maybe they will begin to accept him better if he learns how to play their games and can join in.  I hope so.  He needs to have friends his own age.

            So, we go out together, and I help him learn mastery over the sea creatures.  The reasons we can communicate with them are still a mystery to me, but I guess that's not important.  I use my abilities to benefit people -- both here and on the surface.  Someday, Garth may also decide to use his abilities in a similar manner.  He sees the fish as playmates and friends and wants to know more about them.  So I teach him all I know, and he absorbs and remembers everything.

            I have tried to explain to him just what it is I do, as both a monarch and as what the landsmen call a superhero.  I am trying to teach him about duty and honor, and about using one's gifts to aid others.  It seems to appeal to him -- especially the idea of 'honor'.  He told me that his mother used to say that his father was an honorable man, and he so very much wants to equate himself with that term -- so he can be what he imagines what his father was like.

            Garth is not even eight years old and he thinks the best thing in the world is to be _honorable._ What a remarkable little boy.

 

***

 

            Arthur says he has to leave for a couple of days.

            That's okay.  He'll come back.  Mauri says he always comes back, and I believe her.            She's very nice.

            When he gets back, we're gonna go out and talk to the fish.  It's one of my favorite things to do.  They're nice too, in their way.  Most of 'em aren't real good thinkers, not like the dolphins and whales.  They're real smart.  They think back.

            I wish Arthur would let me go with him sometimes, especially when I know he's going to the surface world.  I want to see what the landsmen are like.  I want to see the other people Arthur works with.  They have funny names -- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Green Arrow.  His is funny too.  Arthur doesn't care for Aquaman much, but he says that it makes it easy for people to remember who they are if their names tell about what they do.  I didn't understand at first, but then he told me that aqua means water.  Waterman?  That's stupid.  I think _Naarigal_ is much better.[1]

            Does Batman do something with bats?  I looked up bats at the Archives, so I know what they are.  How do bats help people?  I'll ask Arthur when he gets back.

            I want to see them.  I really want to see Batman.  I'll ask him about the bats, cause I don't get it.  Maybe Arthur will take me if I'm really good.  I'll try to be as good as I can be and learn lots of important stuff.

            I like Arthur.  He's really good to me.  He always explains everything and he doesn't treat me like I'm stupid, not like the kids in defense class.  Arthur's nice.

            When I grow up, I wanna be just like him.

  

**_The End_ **

  

 _For Stephen and Daniel, "Mommy's_ _Little_ _Minnows"...._

 

 

* * *

 

[1] _Naarigal_ is the Poseidonians' term for Arthur in his costumed persona.  It translates loosely as 'Father/King Protector of the Sea'.   -  sla

 


End file.
